Planting Tips
Planting apricots in the winter shade of your yard helps increase the possibility of fruiting because it delays early blooming which might be damaged by frost. Moving the air around the tree utilizing a fan may also reduce frost damage. If covering your tree, use cloth not plastic because plastic conducts cold. Make sure the cloth covers the tree from the ground up, if possible.

Pollination
Many apricots are self-fruitful; however, certain varieties require specific pollination. Check the listing below by variety for specific requirements. If no specific pollinizer is stated, any other variety will suffice. SF=Self-Fruitful

Pests and Disease
Few insects are harmful to apricots. Coddling moth and other fruit-spoiling insects may be avoided by maintaining a regular spray schedule. Dormant oil sprays or dormant disease control sprays applied in January or February before the buds, swell when the tree is dormant, helps to control these pests by killing over wintering insect eggs. Further insect control can be achieved by spraying with Fruit & Vegetable Insect Control, Master Nursery Pest Fighter or Garden Insect Spray three times at one week intervals when 80% of the blossoms are dead. Bacterial gummosis, a disease which causes long, narrow, damp-looking gummy patches on the trunk or branches, can be controlled by pruning; be sure to sterilize your pruning implement after each cut or use by dipping it into a 10-to-1 bleach and water solution. For persistent or chronic cases, consult our garden center expert. A fungicide can also be recommended to control diseases such as mildew where there is a problem.

Thinning & Harvesting
Because trees usually set too heavily, fruit must be thinned severely when about an inch in diameter. Trees that overbear may set little or no fruit the following year. Broken branches may also occur as a result of lack of thinning.

Harvesting & Storage
Apricots develop delectable flavor when allowed to ripen fully on the tree. A single tree will ripen its fruit over a period of about three weeks. If you plan to can or store fruit, pick when firm-ripe before fruit skin has developed its typical apricot color. When stored in a cool place, fruit will keep fairly well for another three or four weeks. Stored fruit, however, will not have the sprightly flavor of a tree-ripened apricot.Due to the uncertainty of wholesale grower stock, trucking, and weather, all varieties will not be available at all times. Although we do have the ability to special order some stock, we make no guarantee of its arrival and cheerfully encourage alternate selections.

Available Varieties